San Antonio Spurs: Patty Mills passes another historic marker for Spurs

Patty Mills joined some legendary San Antonio Spurs with this latest mark

The longer you follow NBA basketball, the more impressive the commitment of players like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili becomes. The San Antonio Spurs were truly fortunate to have such committed superstars.

There were certainly opportunities to chase greener pastures but these stars held firm and played out their careers with one NBA franchise, and there’s no doubt that our game is better for it. And while Patty Mills did spend a brief stint with the Portland Trail Blazers, his name is getting close to being mentioned in the same breath as those other greats.

Mills has been a mainstay on the San Antonio Spurs bench for almost a decade now. It’s hard to imagine the Spurs playing without him. He’s been around so long that his presence on the team and in the community feels like it’s been there forever. He’s truly an integral part of the team.

We’ve talked about the case for retiring Patty’s jersey number before. The argument is there and it’s only getting stronger with each historic mark Patty knocks down.

Mills tallies 600th career game with San Antonio Spurs

Patty Mills recently recorded his 600th career game with the San Antonio Spurs. He joined some truly elite company with this latest achievement.

Look at the other players to have reached the 600 career games mark and you’ll see a few familiar faces jump out at you. Duncan, Ginobili, Tony Parker, David Robinson, all NBA champions, and all have their jerseys retired by the Spurs.

If he remains healthy this year, and Mills has always been a remarkably consistent player, Patty is likely to climb further on that list and could conceivably rank as high as 5th on the Spurs list of career games played before he hangs it up. That, along with his 2nd place ranking on the Spurs list of made three’s, should lock up his position in the rafters of the AT&T Center.

Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it’s gone but I don’t think that’s the case with Patty Mills. After the retirements of the Big Three, San Antonio Spurs fans are more aware of how special these kinds of players are. We’re going to savor every Patty moment until the time comes for him to see his jersey hung up next to other San Antonio Spurs greats.